Schottenstein Center Seating Chart
The Schottenstein Center, known on campus as the Schott, is the home of Ohio State Buckeyes basketball and a regular tour stop in Columbus. The 1998 arena seats around 19,000 for hoops and reconfigures for concerts, with a wide lower bowl and a single upper tier.
Sections at Schottenstein Center
Schottenstein Center breaks down into these 6 main sections. The one printed on your ticket sets your price, your distance, and your view, so read it against this list before you buy — and note the layout can shift between a game, a concert, and a private buyout.
- Floor — concert general admission and chairs
- Lower Bowl — 100s, courtside up
- Club Level — mid-tier premium
- Upper Bowl — 200s
- Student Section — lower end
- Suites
Best seats at Schottenstein Center
Lower-bowl sideline sections in the 100s give the best Buckeyes basketball view. For concerts, the 100 level facing the stage end is the play — the upper 200s are fine but sit a fair distance back from a center stage.
Tips before you go
The Schott has its own parking lots on the Ohio State campus, so arrive early on game and concert nights to beat the lot traffic. Student-section energy peaks for ranked Big Ten matchups, so get there for warmups.
How to read the Schottenstein Center seating chart
The Schottenstein Center chart divides 18,809 seats in a bowl that wraps a central court, rink, or stage across 6 named sections — Floor, Lower Bowl, Club Level, Upper Bowl, Student Section, and Suites. Which of those names is printed on your ticket decides more than location: two sections apart can mean a different level, a different price bracket, and a different side of the room entirely.
When you weigh a Schottenstein Center ticket, three variables do the work: how close you are to the floor, whether you face the action square on or from a baseline, and how high you sit. That's why Suites and Floor can price and view so differently while sitting on the same chart. Use the best-seats notes above as the tiebreak for Schottenstein Center, then confirm section, row, and seat against the official Columbus map before checkout.
For scale: at 18,809 seats, Schottenstein Center ranks 11th of the 24 Ohio venues in this guide by capacity — Blossom Music Center (19,000) is the next size up, Nationwide Arena (18,500) the next size down.
Building a seating chart for an event at Schottenstein Center
Booked a suite, a club space, or a room adjacent to Schottenstein Center for something private? Let the chart above anchor the plan — sections like Floor and Suites and their surrounding tiers show the geography — and lay tables over just the part of it your event occupies. Seat every guest in the maker, export the PDF, and the Columbus event-services team has a document they can set up from. Full house at Schottenstein Center is 18,809, but private events run on a far smaller footprint: dinner rounds, program rows, and a head table are usually the whole build.
Hosting a private event at Schottenstein Center?
Sketch your Schottenstein Center event in minutes — rounds for dinner service, rows for the presentation, a head table where it belongs. Up to 500 seats per layout, finished as a print-ready PDF the Columbus event team can work from.
Open the seating chart generatorFrequently asked questions
- How many seats does Schottenstein Center hold?
- Schottenstein Center holds 18,809 at full configuration. The usable count shifts with the event — a concert may open or close sections a daytime event keeps as-is — and a private buyout uses only the sections you book, often a club, a suite, or a section or two out of the 6 on the Columbus chart.
- What are the best seats at Schottenstein Center?
- Lower-bowl sideline sections in the 100s give the best Buckeyes basketball view. For concerts, the 100 level facing the stage end is the play — the upper 200s are fine but sit a fair distance back from a center stage.
- What sections does Schottenstein Center have?
- Main sections include: Floor — concert general admission and chairs; Lower Bowl — 100s, courtside up; Club Level — mid-tier premium. Full breakdown in the sections list above.
- Where is Schottenstein Center located?
- Schottenstein Center is located in Columbus, Ohio. Confirm the street address, parking, and transit near sections like Floor on the official venue site before you go; Columbus venues handle gates, lots, and rideshare pickups differently.
- How do I plan a private event at Schottenstein Center?
- Use the maker on this page: begin with Schottenstein Center's real layout — sections like Floor and Suites — place tables over the footprint your event will use, seat your guests, and export a PDF for the Columbus event-services team.